State Rep. Bartlett arrested for suspended license

Published 1:23 pm, Wednesday, November 18, 2009

NEWTOWN -- When state Rep. Jason Bartlett, D-Bethel, was stopped for using a hand-held cell phone in his car by Newtown police Tuesday, they discovered his license was suspended.

The state Department of Motor Vehicles had suspended his license in August 2008 because Bartlett had failed to pay a Hartford ticket -- for using his hand-held cell phone in his car -- as well as not carrying his insurance card or registration.

It took him a couple of hours Tuesday to clean up his record. Bartlett, 43, represents Bethel and parts of Danbury and Redding for the General Assembly second district.

He got a ride to the DMV, he said, to pay the ticket and reinstate his license, and to a store to buy a hands-free device for his cell phone.

"I was totally shocked my license was not in effect,'' Bartlett said Wednesday. "I understood the cell phone charge, but had no knowledge that my license was suspended."

Police say Bartlett was pulled over at 9:57 a.m. Tuesday on Church Hill Road for using a hand-held cell phone while driving and that after a "brief investigation," it was determined his license had been suspended.

Bartlett was taken to police headquarters, processed, then released on a promise to appear in court Dec. 1.

Bartlett said the officers did their job and he had his cousin drive him to New Britain to pay $268 for the outstanding ticket issued April 23, 2008, and associated fees and another $125 to reinstate his license.

The DMV suspended his license Aug. 20, 2008, for circumstances stemming from non-payment of the April ticket, according to court and DMV records.

"Then I went to Best Buy and bought a new device for my cell phone that has a speaker that attaches to my visor," he said. "It works for me."

Bartlett said he had to assume that the DMV sent him a letter about his license being suspended, but said he doesn't remember seeing it.

"If I had knowledge it had happened, I would have taken care of it," he said.

Bartlett said it was especially bad timing for him because he was on his way to Hartford for a press conference to unveil a new initiative he is leading to reduce the achievement gap among students in the state.